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Accessing Legacy Patient Records With Epic EMR

Every year, healthcare facilities move from one EMR or EHR system to another. Many, like you, either have moved or want to move to Epic. The problem is, there are some circumstances in which it is not possible – or it is cost prohibitive – to migrate all the patient records that are on eCW, GE Centricity (or similar EMR solutions) to Epic.

Every year, healthcare facilities move from one EMR or EHR system to another. Many, like you, either have moved or want to move to Epic.

The problem is, there are some circumstances in which it is not possible – or it is cost prohibitive – to migrate all the patient records that are on eCW, GE Centricity (or similar EMR solutions) to Epic.

The question for many in this process then becomes, “Once we switch to Epic, how do our clinicians access the legacy records?”

Keep reading. We’ll consider that question and answer these along the way.

How do you get started with ChartViewer for Epic EMR? What’s the process?

How To Look At Legacy Patient Records With Epic EMR?

The administrator of a healthcare organization keeps getting complaints from his/her clinicians that they can’t do a comprehensive assessment of certain patients because some of the patients’ EMR is tied up in a legacy system. The clinicians love using Epic, but they need to have access to those legacy patient records in order to give the best care possible.

Sound familiar?

You’re not alone.

Every year, healthcare facilities move from one EMR or EHR system to another. Many, like you, either has moved or want to move to Epic.

Why?

Because they see Epic’s approach to health records as the road that must be taken moving into the future. Epic is leading the way right now to what some people are referring to as Comprehensive Health Records. Comprehensive Health Records include much more than what is found in traditional health records and in the future will include information gathered from outside the clinician’s office – such as data from homecare, telemedicine, and wearable diagnostic devices.

Because Epic is leading the field right now, it only makes sense that organizations are making the choice to switch from their current EMR software (such as eCW or GE Centricity) to Epic.

The problem is, there are some circumstances in which it is not possible (or it is cost prohibitive) to migrate all the patient records that are on eCW, GE Centricity (or similar EMR solutions) to Epic.

The question for many in this process then becomes, “Once we switch to Epic, how do our clinicians access the legacy records? … Should we keep the legacy system running alongside Epic?”

You already know that keeping the legacy system (essentially running two EHR solutions in your organization) is expensive and unwieldy. Paying upkeep/licensing and using an old EMR system while getting everyone up to speed and using Epic is cumbersome and not worth the hassle,

So, what’s the solution?

Let’s look at how to access legacy records WITHOUT continuing to pay all the costs associated with keeping a legacy system running – just for data storage.

ChartViewer is a simple EMR storage application that allows a healthcare organization to get rid of the high costs associated with running a legacy EMR solution and move on to Epic while still retaining access to older patient records. This simple alternative gives healthcare CIOs a more effective and efficient option for storing, securing, and providing clinician access to legacy records while using Epic.

What is ChartViewer for Epic EMR?

ChartViewer is an EMR storage application that provides the following advantages:

Integration with Epic’s EHR solution

Searchable EMRs

Encrypted

HIPAA Compliant

Stand-alone version available

Portable

Small file sizes

How is ChartViewer Used?

Healthcare organizations use ChartViewer in one of two ways.

#1 – A Stop-Gap Measure – In this scenario, ChartViewer is used as a storage facility between the legacy EMR solution and the time when the organization decides to move some or all of the records into Epic.

#2 – An Ongoing Accessible Storage Option – Using ChartViewer for ongoing, accessible storage is the more predominant use of the application. Because ChartViewer has been designed with efficiency and the user in mind, it’s the ideal option for organizations that simply want secure, compliant storage from which their clinicians can gather patient records when needed.

How do Epic and ChartViewer work together?

ChartViewer can be integrated into Epic to the point that it is launched from Epic and allows clinicians to search by a patient chart in a secure environment. When and if the organization desires, individual files or all of the EMRs inside ChartViewer can be moved into Epic. Because ChartViewer has been developed with cybersecurity best practices and HIPAA compliance in mind, it has no impact on the security posture of the records residing in the Epic environment.

How do you get started with ChartViewer and Epic EMR? What’s the process?

The good news about leveraging ChartViewer and Epic together is that you don’t need a third vendor to maintain ChartViewer. With just a little help from the GDS IT support staff, you can have ChartViewer up and running on a secure server and migrate all of your legacy EMR into it. Once your instance of ChartViewer is set up and integrated with Epic, your clinicians will have the access they need to view files and gather the facts they need to give patients the best of care. It’s that simple.

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